The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-02-26


lishment, from garnet to cellar, explor-
ing even the most unlikely places, APP
parently thinking might be concealed
under washtubs, on shelves, behind
trunks. anywhere, everywhere
When at last she reached the sad con-
viction that | had really left the prem
ises, she would hunt up some article of
dress belonging to me, carry it to my
sanctum, scramble on to table with it
in her mouth, and laying her head down
upon it, there wait till | come home
Poor little Fidget! How loved that lit
tie dog!
We had christened her Fidget because
she was such restless little thing.
There never was such a fly-about in the
world. Now she would jump on chair
and bark out of the window at nothing;
then she would made dash at the cat.
and roll her over and over, till she GOT
in Il rage and acted ugly, then Fidget
would give a sharp bark and look at me
tiXedly for a few seconds, pretending
that she had never thought about the
cat at all. If returned her glance she
would begin to wag her tail, although,
by-the-way, it was difficult to tell which
was the right end of her, unless she was
running, and then you only knew be-
cause you were certain that she would
never run backwards. She was such a
shapeless little lump of caniaeait IT,, s1t0t
you were liable, at times, to take her
for any thing fluffy-a mop, door mat,
a muf, bundle of rags, an old bonnet,
any thing.
As long as Fidget was with us we al
ways knew what our ncighbors had for
dinner on the previous day She used
to scour the adjoining back yards and
gardens, and bring home all the loose
bones that might be lying round, and
deposit them on the mat outside our
front door One day found there the
whole skeleton of Il turkey, two chop
bones and shin of beef, besides frag-
ments of dried toast, buckwheat cakes,
corn mullins and cold potatoes. 1t was
the holiday season and the folks had
evidently been living well in my sec
ton, and Fidget had been industrious.
well remember her short bark of de-
light when | opened the door, and she
directed one end of her body towards
me, which knew to be her bow, so to
speak, from two little, glistening,
brown dots hidden under tangle OF
long hair, which | recognized rs her
eyes, and another little black dot be-
tween them, which represented her
nose. | remember too, the indescriba-
Bile wiggle of her whole body, which
passed with her for tail wagging, and
the extraordinary cyclone of gyrations,
till she @yrated herself off the top of the
stoop, and with yelp at each bump,
landed sober, but serene. at the bottom.
When Fidget was not foraging round
in the neighbours yards, she frequently
entertained her friends on tho front
stoop-all the ragtag and bobtail kiyus.
as well as the aristocratic settlers and
Newfoundlands. in the neghborhood.
One day | was disturbed by furious
barking and general commotion in1front
of the house, and. on going to the door,
discovered our rector's wife kept at bay
at the front gate by a strange pack of
hounds, comprising spotted coach dog,
a spitz, black, shaggy beast of some
unknown variety, and a small ''yaller''
dog, all friends of Fidget. The poor
lady, found, had a peculiar dread of
dogs, so her feelings may be imagined,
but my rage and Indignation can not.
To think of my visitors, and the minis
ter's wife at that, being driven from the
door by ragamuffin volunteer guard
of strangers. o, it was too much! l
prove the guard away, punished Fidget,
and apOlogized to the lady.
My children had u little wagon to
which they harnessed Fidget. BY pa
tient training they managed to run
their them round the garden sometimes
without accident. Grown confident
with this success, ambition soon fol-
lowed, and they longed for wider field
of action. One day my wife sent them
to the grocery at the corner of the
street, about a hundred and fifty yards
off, to make II few purchases. They
harnessed Fidget to the wagon, and
trotted down to the store in style and
safety. In about fifteen minutes they
returned, my son carrying Fidget and
; the shattered wagon in his arms, and
my little daughter, with her apron and
little hand piled up with burst and
broken packages of groceries, That
was the last time Fidget was used for
the express business. They had loaded
up the wagon, Fidget had seen friend
across the street, and there was an end
of it.
| afterward removed to the village
hotel, where Fidget's habit of inviting
her friends into the premises caused
the landlord some annoyance. One
day she disappeared, and | never saw
her again. sadly fear there was foul
play somewhere-kidnaping, or per-
haps worse. Poor little Fidget! she was
the last dog that ever owned me-
Frank Belle,c, IN Golden Dags.